The UN has accused South Sudan’s Army of raping and then burning girls alive inside their homes during its recent campaign, a report by its mission in the country said.
The statement, published on Tuesday, warned the recent upsurge in fighting had been marked by a “new brutality and intensity.”
“The scope and level of cruelty that has characterized the reports suggests a depth of antipathy that exceeds political differences,” the UN said, Al Jazeera reported.
Members of the UN mission in Sudan said they interviewed 115 victims and eyewitnesses in Unity state where South Sudanese forces were involved in fighting against opposition fighters in April.
The survivors allege that the Sudan People’s Liberation Army killed civilians, destroyed villages and displaced 100,000 people, the statement added.
The UN said attempts to corroborate the reports were prevented by South Sudan military, which denied its access to the areas concerned.
South Sudan attained independence in 2011 but the country has disintegrated into chaos.
Thousands of people have been killed and almost two million displaced in a civil conflict that erupted in late 2013 as forces loyal to President Salva Kiir tried to put down an uprising led by his former deputy, Riek Machar.
Peace talks between the factions collapsed in March this year, and clashes have since escalated.
